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domingo, 30 de enero de 2011

The sheiks invade the Spanish football (Yahoo)

It was always said that Spain has “the blood of the Moors and Jews” but all this remained in the popular feeling. The truth is that the Peninsula had a deep relationship, of love and hate, with the Arabian World and there were several centuries of dominion, to such a point that an integrate part of this group continues being called “Al-Andalús” considering that this territory belongs to them.
Not a long time ago, the city of Madrid suffered a tremendous attack of Al Qaeda in the railroad station of Atocha, on the 11th of March 2004, where hundreds of innocent people died that even modified the electoral panorama of that week with the unexpected triumph of the president in force, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
However, all that cost so much to the Arabian World in Spain, now seems to simplify with the entrance through sports and specially the football. And everything, too quickly, in an accelerated manner, in few months.
Only few were surprised that in the election for the headquarters of the World Championship 2022, Spain voted, through the president of their Federation, Angel Villar, the candidature of Qatar, being that a contest in that country would be played at a temperature of about 45 degrees in full summer.
There have not passed too many months, and the Arabian World entered into the Spanish League through the great door of business.
The first step was given by the Barcelona, nothing less but the Champion of the league, when its president Sandro Rosell announced an agreement with Qatar Foundation, in the mid of waves of critics, for the change of 165 millions of Euros for five seasons, the professional team will use advertising on their vest, broking a tradition of over one century.
Up to now, the Barcelona was using only the UNICEF advertising, but as from the 1st of July 2011, with the beginning of the new season, the International organism should share the vest of the Catalonian club with said foundation, that according to different denunciation, every year grants a prize bearing the name of the Egyptian sheik Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who sustains that the Jews are “malignant” and that it is “necessary to go against the pregnant Jewish woman because they are enemies”.
On the other hand, the ex honorary president, coach and player of the Barcelona Johan Cruyff, absolutely opposed that the Barcelona breaks its tradition and use that kind of publicity in its vest, but nobody listened to him and not only this, since a few days ago, the team started to use the advertising of the Qatar Foundation in their training vests awaiting the arrival of the 1st of July and be able to extend this agreement for the days of the matches.
Though no concrete mention has been made regarding the conversation during the last week Rosell received the Israeli ambassador Raphael Schutz, and it is not strange that some kind consideration regarding this matter have been brought up.
At the same time that the Barcelona was announcing this agreement with the Qatar Foundation, the Málaga was announcing the transfer of the society of the family Sanz to the sheik Abdullah Nasser Al Thani, son of the Secretary of Interior of Qatar and vice-president of the group Nasser Bin Abdullah and Sons Company, that dedicates to the export of ceramic tiles and marmols, tourism and electronics, and the manager of the National company of cars with the exclusivity of the trademarks such as Hyundai and Mazda, and if that is not enough, with shares participation in the TV channel Al Jazeera
.The Málaga decided to bet a very strong movement and the initial kick is being given in this market with the arrival of the Venezuelan Rondón, the Brazilian Julio Baptista, and the Argentine Martín Demichelis or the registration for July of Diego Buonanotte, meanwhile the coach is the engineer Manuel Pellegrini, specialist to form teams with much patience as he did during years in the Villarreal.
During the passed week, not to be less, also the Racing of Santander announce the transference of their actions, after long conversations with the government of Cantabria and the former president of the society, Francisco Pernías, to Asham Ali Syed, an Indian executive, resident in Bahrein and president of the Western Golf Advisory (WGA).
Ali Syed, actually, had the dream to buy the Blackburn Rovers, of the Premier League, for which he offered 335 millions of Euros, but in front of the rejection, he decided for the indebted Racing, promising to pay the 15 millions in red of the entity, the 7 mullions taken in credit and announced another 50 millions in registrations.
At the same time, different media informed that in the same week, the Real Madrid received an important offer (200 millions of Euros) to redesign the stadium of Santiago Bernabeu, on behalf of the sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, of the Group of Emirates (already present in the Arsenal and the Milan), in change of the giant of the Paseo de la Castellana to be called as from the 2013 “Emirates Santiago Bernabeu”, and that would have in its interior a great commercial centre, a hotel and it would be roofed.
But not only so many clubs are “invaded” by the oil and gas Euros of the Arabians but also their power seems to extend to the television.
There is a rumour this days by which the emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani would buy the shares that the Mexican television channel Televisa possesses in the Spanish broadcast La Sexta, owner of transmission rights of the Spanish league and other European leagues for the Hispanic territory.
Televisa possesses the 40 percents of the shares of La Sexta, being its maximum shareholder, Mediapro, who already has an office in Qatar, with ninety workers in Doha, its capital. They were those who covered the last World Championship for the channel Al Jazeera and in December 2010 installed the International Broadcast Center of Al Jazeera Sports for the Asian Games.
If there is any doubt, Mediapro Middle East, the Asiatic division of the broadcast, together with Reem Inverstments, is the responsible of the first official league of the amateur men’s and women’s football in Abu Dhabi, Arabian United Emirates, that started the last January 10th.
As it seems, the Spanish football not only begins to be managed by the Arabs but also they will be those to manage their television transmission.
Finally will it be football the entrance door for the Arabian World in Spanish territory?